Entertainment

Friday, May 29, 2009

Jay Leno says good-bye to the “Tonight Show”

Photo: NBC After 17 years, Jay Leno hosted his last official “Tonight Show” taping this evening with laughs, gags, memories, and some favorite guests. Some of the entertainer’s fans in the audience had spent hours in line to make sure they got a chance to watch the taping of Leno’s finale. Leno is not heading off into the sunset for retirement, […]
Friday, May 29, 2009

Phil Spector sentenced to 19 years-to-life

A Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge threw the book at convicted murderer and music legend, Phil Spector, today. Judge Larry Paul Fidler sentenced the 69-year-old Spector to 19 years-to-life, the maximum term. Last month, a jury convicted the eccentric music producer of second-degree murder in the death of 40-year-old Lana Clarkson. The B-Movie actress of such films as “Barbarian Queen” (1985) […]
Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Barack Obama: Then and Now

Photo (1980): Lisa Jack — from the Los Angeles Times In 1980, Occidental College student Lisa Jack got very, very lucky. A bright handsome freshman named Barry Obama agreed to a photo session for one of Jack’s class assignments. The session produced 36 shots of a cool, youthful Obama. The photo above shows Obama wearing a bomber-style jacket with swirls of smoke […]
Monday, May 25, 2009

Two sequels battle for the top spot at the holiday Box Office

  “Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian” had to slug it out with another new film, “Terminator Salvation,” for the top spot at the Memorial Day holiday weekend Box Office. “Terminator Salvation” got off to a fast start with screenings on Thursday, while the second “Night at the Museum” movie opened on Friday.  Still, the family-friendly fantasy clobbered the […]
Saturday, May 23, 2009

Mixed blessings on this Memorial Day holiday weekend

Photo: FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove — Burbank The economy is still struggling. Job layoffs by the thousands continue. Gasoline prices at the pumps are up. On Thursday, May 21, I paid $2.60 a gallon at a gas station in Burbank. A month ago at the same station, I paid $2.30 a gallon.  And food prices are still outrageously high; why is that […]
Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Actor Tony Curtis gets a new tell-all book deal

Even decades later, the movie comedy “Some Like It Hot” (1959), directed by the legendary Billy Wilder, is still very funny. It’s a true classic that stands up against the changing times and culture. The film stars Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis as two musicians on the run from gangsters who disguise themselves as women and join an all female band. […]
Sunday, May 17, 2009

“Angels & Demons” flies to the top of the Box Office

   “Angels & Demons” did not pack the appeal and Box Office numbers of its predecessor, “The Da Vinci Code.” Nonetheless, the new thriller about a deadly plot against the Vatican grabbed the attention of movie fans and debuted with an estimated $48 million this weekend to become the number one movie in the country. “Angels & Demons” is based on another […]
Sunday, May 17, 2009

Fantastic filly makes history at the Preakness

Photo: Jason Reed/Reuters A speedy filly named Rachel Alexandra thundered past a pack of males to win the Preakness yesterday in Baltimore, Maryland. Rachel was the favorite and she did not disappoint. She’s the first filly to cross the finish line first at the Preakness since 1924!  You go girl!  Photo: Tim Shaffer/Reuters Rachel got high praise from her jockey, Calvin Borel: “She’s the […]
Saturday, May 16, 2009

Frank Sinatra: A new film and book

  Photo: William P. Gottlieb (1947) Legendary crooner Frank Sinatra died 11 years ago on May 14, 1998, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles after suffering a heart attack. Sinatra was 82. Now the entertainer, known as “Ol’ Blue Eyes” or “The Voice,” is about to live again on the big screen and in the pages of a new book. Francis Albert Sinatra […]